Last night I had a little time and a lot of rice, so I cooked up an Indian dinner with a bunch of the packets and spices that we brought back from India last summer. I made chicken byriani rice, a yellow lentil soup, and some salad, and it turned out pretty good. The spices that we came back with are pretty easy to use, and the tastes are completely different from any Indian food you can find in Japan, with the possible exception of Swaad.

We are inching towards the end of the six month teaching term at KHI. There’s only about a month left, and I am working behind the scenes urging my students on their final projects as well as starting to make final reports. Usually by this stage I have some idea about the next term, or at least whether or not there is a next term. This time around I haven’t heard anything. Kind of weird – but hopefully I’ll get some news in the next couple of weeks. Strange!

Actually, it’s Mr. Taco Hat. It’s the name of a new shop in the local food court, and they do indeed serve tacos. Last night since Kuniko was out for dinner I stopped in and bought a couple of tacos. And they aren’t bad! The tortillas are deep fried, but otherwise a simple, expensive taco that was pretty tasty. I know better than to complain about a taco shop opening in my own town. Still, I think we do better here at home.

For the second time this week I overslept a bit, so again another short post. More at the end of this week – hopefully…

Yesterday was a pretty normal day back at work. Other than a ton of rain things went smoothly and I got to work and back without a problem. Since Kuniko had a party last night I was on my own for dinner, so while shopping over at Vivre I bumped into Ms. Yamaji and Yuki. They were doing some shopping for a party that Yuki is hosting tonight, and offered me a ride home in their car. It was nice of them, especially considering the pouring rain outside.

They are pretty excited about my folks coming to Japan in March, and are already thinking about some kind of party at their house to celebrate. The party schedule is heating up around here, so hopefully I’ll get some info from my company about my schedule during those two weeks!

This weekend was a pleasant surprise. Although I really didn’t have any events officially planned other than a dinner on Friday, we got a lot done and had plenty of time to relax.

First up was dinner on Friday night with three of my former students. Since returning from Vietnam Kuniko and I have long lamented the lack of delicious Vietnamese food in Kobe, and the best of the bunch – Com Vietnam – is quite good, but far from authentic. So when my student suggested this place, I didn’t hold out much hope. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant called Com Coka, and it was great. The cook has lived in Hanoi, and you could tell from the flavor that he learned well while he was there. Everything was delicious, but I especially liked the steamed spring rolls, and the pho bo. Good pho is hard to find, but this was perfect. So I’m happy to report that there is a place that serves excellent Vietnamese in Sannomiya. Finally.

On the way home I dropped in at Wine Bar D, and he had a bottle of Heitz Zinfandel open – perfect timing. I was hoping that Kuniko might be partying in the area and we could meet up, but as it turned out she had headed home already, so I enjoyed the wine and some prosciutto and then headed on down the road myself.

Kuniko went to see a student off in Osaka, so I spent Saturday morning relaxing around the house – doing laundry and watching a pretty documentary called “The Interrupters”, about a Chicago area organization called Cease Fire that has former gang members on the streets trying to prevent street violence before it happens. I highly recommend the movie if you have a chance to see it, and the scenes of life in Chicago were a stark contrast to what I am used to here in Kobe. Eye opening.

Kuniko got home in the late morning, and so we went to do a little car shopping. We’re thinking about getting a new car, and Kuniko had been torn between a Mazda Axela and a Honda Fit Shuttle. Since she already has a Mazda Demio that is getting on in years, we went to look at the Mazda first. The sales guy was completely low pressure, and you could tell that there was a lot of room to negotiate. Mazda is not the most popular car here in Japan so he was doing his best to make a deal. Kuniko really likes the design on the Axela, and we talked about price and options and it was very reasonable. Just like in the USA the guy wanted us to make a decision that day, but we still had another car to look at. When we said that we were going to look at a Fit Shuttle he looked visibly crestfallen and started cutting the price even lower. We got out of there quickly, after giving a false promise of returning once we finished at Honda.

Over at Honda sales are going strong. The Honda Fit is a very popular car here because of the compact size. Japan is one place where the roads are extremely narrow, the parking spaces are tight, and small is good. We wanted to look at the Fit Shuttle because it is a little bit bigger than the regular Fit, and we both liked the looks of it. As it happened, there was a new Fit Shuttle sitting out front of the dealership that was a display model. It hasn’t been driven on the street – not even for test drives – but is trucked around to various Honda dealerships to show off. The end of the fiscal year is coming up next month in Japan, and that means that they wanted to sell that car and get another one out in front.

Talking with the sales guy at Honda, you could see there was a different vibe. They had the cars that everyone wants, so they had no big motivation to negotiate on prices. If you don’t buy it, somebody else will soon enough. All the same, we climbed in the Fit Shuttle, tried out the seats and poked around inside the car. It is not a hybrid model – only gasoline – but we were leaning that way anyway since we drive only about 2-3 times a month. The sales guy quickly saw that we seemed serious and he got serious too – and after talking about how we were torn between the Fit and the Axela at Mazda he started making deals as well. We left with a promise to think about it, and then skipped the Mazda dealer and did some grocery shopping before heading home.

The rest of the day we spent around the house – sipping champagne, looking through the car brochures, and doing research online. Kuniko made a really good crock pot recipe – simmered pork shoulder and onion in a tomato balsamic sauce. It was cooking for several hours and you could smell when the chemistry shifted and all the acids turned. The dish was awesome. I’m thinking we’ll have more crock pot dinners on the weekends.

Sunday Kuniko was off at a seminar all day, so I stayed home and did some reading, listening to music and relaxing around the house. Once Kuniko got home we talked more about the cars and we decided in principle to go with the Honda Fit Shuttle. We haven’t settled on a final price, and there is some more negotiation that will happen on options and such, but we are decided. The salesman was happy to hear from us on the telephone, and he came over to our house to give us some paperwork to hold the car temporarily until we settle on price. So I think next weekend we’ll finalize all that stuff, and then two weeks after that the car should be ready for us to pick up. Good news! Here’s some information on the Honda Fit Shuttle (in English).

Well, back to work! It’s raining today and tomorrow, so at least it’ll be warmer…

Yesterday during the last few hours of the workday a couple of clouds drifted over Hyogo and dropped a bunch of snow onto the workplace. As I left work I found that it was still snowing, and the snow was pretty much everywhere between me and the train station. The good news was that there was no need for an umbrella, but the bad news was the bone-chilling cold. I caught a train that was running five minutes late, and discovered that Kuniko was on not only the same train, but just a few people between me. Because the train so jammed with people I didn’t notice her until everybody disembarked at Akashi.

Since she had to do some shopping for some hiking gear we decided to have dinner at Swaad. Something about hot, spicy curry and chicken tikka sounds good when it is freezing. After a delicious dinner we headed out to do the shopping, and by the time we finished that the trains were completely screwed up. A crowd of people were waiting inside the station for trains to come through, but it looked like it was going to be a long wait for them. I guess the snow caused disruptions up and down the JR train line. Luckily it didn’t affect us.

Today is Setsubun, and that means eating a giant roll of sushi while facing the lucky direction without speaking. Weird, I know, but when in Rome… Since we both have a party after work today we ate sushi for breakfast, and then ate some lucky beans. It should be an extremely lucky day today, based on our breakfast.

Yesterday and today there are some pretty strong winds blowing around here, and after the brief respite of cloudy weather yesterday we are back to freezing temperatures. The wind and freezing combo is not so great for the walk into work, but I usually bundle up with several layers and I’m fine. The problem is that when I arrive in my completely insulated office on the fourth floor it is plenty warm, and sometimes I’m sweating by the afternoon.

Last night my culinary experiments continued with my first time making spaetzle. I followed a recipe that sounded easy enough, and I topped it with lots of cheese and combined it with caramelized red and yellow onions. Yum! It was pretty easy to make, actually, and I think I’ll try some variations in the future. Mission accomplished!

Last night after work I met with the Denya master and a couple of other friends – Toita-san and Yamashita-san also joined the fun. We went to a seafood restaurant in Okubo that I’ve never visited and spent the evening talking, eating and catching up. The master had a new smartphone that he was playing with, and he joked that he was a “digital” kind of guy, rather than the other “analog” guys. He was also glad to hear that my folks are coming to visit in March – we’ll definitely have to have a party at Denya while they are here. The bad news was that I came home reeking of cigarette smoke from the other customers in the place. Thankfully Fabreeze is easily available.

Yesterday one of my students who often travels to Tokyo delivered one of my favorite souvenirs in Japan – Tokyo Banana. It is kind of like a small sponge cake, filled with banana cream. It’s the closest thing I have ever had to a Banana Cream Pie in Japan. I’m not sure why anybody ever thought of Tokyo selling Tokyo Banana – there are not really any banana trees in Tokyo. Maybe they needed a distinctive souvenir that other cities didn’t have. Lots of people go to Tokyo on business or to see family, so I guess it made sense.

Anyway, these things are delicious. I’ve been snacking on them last night and this morning and it is hard to stop.

Tonight after work I’m meeting the Denya master for drinks. He’s got every Tuesday off, so it is a little difficult to meet on the weekends. I’m not sure what the plan is, but it’s a school night for me so I don’t think it will be a crazy party. At least I hope not…

For once we had a full schedule this weekend. For starters, I met up with Antoine in Sannomiya to catch up – it had been a couple of months since we had met up and talked. He recommended a Cuban restaurant, and since I’ve never really eaten Cuban food we went over there with more than a little excitement. The place, called “Caliente” was decorated with Cuban posters as well as period art from the 1960’s. We sat at the table, and the waiter brought over a menu written on a chalkboard. Unfortunately, there was nothing but your normal Sannomiya French food. I asked about Cuban food, and he apologized and said there were no Cuban dishes available. What?

He felt bad and went to ask the chef, and he cooked up a chicken dish with a spicy sauce that perhaps was Cuban, but other than that we had pretty normal stuff – cheese melted on pita bread, and a couple of venison filets that were a little dry. One good point was that we were able to try Cuban beer for the first time, and it wasn’t bad.

Reeling from that experience, we decided to go another place for drinks. Antoine had heard that an old gaijin bar that used to be in Kobe years and years ago had re-opened. The place, called “Bar Isn’t It” was a popular mini-chain, and we have been to the one in Osaka once years ago. So we tried to search for the location, but all the power of two iphones and an internet connection could get us zero results. The only thing we could find was a blog post from 12 years ago with a tiny map of the area. We decided to try to find it based on the idea that if they reopened, they might have opened in the same place.

So about 30 minutes later we found the place, and we also figured out why we couldn’t find it by searching the web – the name was now “Izn’t It” with a Z – so our searches for Isn’t It came up empty. We went inside and ordered a couple of drinks, hung out for a while. The place was mainly full of foreigners, but once in a while a couple of Japanese folks came through. I’m not a big fan of gaijin bars, however, and it wasn’t long before we made our exit. Kuniko met us on our way back to the station, and we were able to go home together – a bonus!

It was good to catch up with Antoine, and talk about his experiences with his son, who is now up and walking around the house. Antoine is busy with his web stuff as well as his regular job these days, but it sounds like he is enjoying what he’s doing.

Saturday night we had the Tojos over for dinner. I baked hamburger buns during the day and then we grilled some monster burgers out on the patio. The sheer size of the burger was incredible, and after we put the toppings on the whole things started to slide around making it pretty hard to eat. I passed out the steak knives, and we managed OK. The Tojos are fun to talk to, and so we stayed pretty late trading stories and talking about the neighborhood. Really nice people!

Finally yesterday we did an all-day hike, starting from Kuniko’s school and going all the way to Hankyu Rokko station. Four other people joined the hike, some of them Kuniko’s coworkers. They were younger coworkers, so Kuniko was the boss of the trip and took the lead. It was an interesting dynamic to watch. Until recently Kuniko was the young teacher, now she is doing more guidance these days. There are benefits and drawbacks to this role, but I think it is good for her to have the chance to tell some people what they should do and lead by example.

The total hiking time was about six hours, and most of the hike was through ice and snow at the top of the mountain. Luckily everybody dressed warmly, and there were no fingers lost to frostbite. Our bodies were pretty tired by the time we got back to Sannomiya, and after drinking some beers at Brugge we went over to Mikaen to eat some authentic Chinese food. As usual the food there was great, and it was fun to introduce the restaurant to the other teachers.

Now it is back to work – we’ve got a regular work week, but I may have a couple of after-work parties Tuesday and Friday. I hope my liver is up to the challenge.

Until a couple of days ago the prime minister of Japan was wearing an eye patch for about a week. You can see a picture here. It was pretty surprising to see him all week wearing the white patch. One thing I’ve noticed in Japan is that a lot of people walk around wearing eye patches – more than you would normally see in the USA. It’s pretty common for normal folks to wear them, but the prime minister?

Last week I bumped into a couple of Kawasaki employees at the tachinomi while I was killing time waiting for Kuniko to show up. They were both managers and had some of their staff in my class. We had a good conversation for about 20 minutes, and then I went off to meet Kuniko.

Fast forward to yesterday morning, and I bumped into one of these guys while crossing the road on the way to work. We had another nice talk, and he seemed very happy that I remembered his name. We walked a ways to the office building and then split up to go to our respective offices.

Finally, last night I met up with a couple of the inspectors back at the tachinomi after work, and we spent a little over an hour talking about this and that. And who should walk in, but my new friend and three of his staff – two of which are my current students. We said hello, but since the inspectors didn’t know any of them it was a little hard to try to merge the two parties together. Luckily over time I was able to bring them a little closer together, and I think it went pretty well. My poor students were under pressure in front of their boss to speak English, but everyone was encouraging, and it was fun. Even the manager spoke some English, which is going out on a limb in business culture – a lot of times people think it is better to keep quiet than to stumble in front of your staff.

Anyway, I had a good time with everyone last night, but since it was a school night I left a little early and got home around 8:30. I threw together a quick dinner, and when Kuniko got home a little later we had another mini-party. It was a very good night.

Yesterday Kuniko had the afternoon off of work, so she cooked dinner for us. She made an asparagus and bacon pasta with white sauce and hit it out of the park. I was going to make this dish the other night, but we ended up going to Swaad for dinner. I think she did a much better job on the white sauce than I could have done.

Tonight after work I’m meeting one of the inspectors from the factory for the first time in a long time. We’re going to the usual tachinomi for a couple of beers and to catch up. We’re both starting to be short-timers around work. I’m always a short-timer around the end of my current contract (which ends in March) and as production winds down on his project he’ll get ready to move to the USA for a year or so to manage the mass production of the project. So I think our opportunities for meeting up are getting fewer and fewer.

Last night while walking home after work it started snowing. This was my first snow of the season, and as usual, it was pretty surreal for a guy from California. Luckily it didn’t last very long, and melted as soon as it hit the ground. It’ll be interesting to see what the weather is today…

After work yesterday I was at the train station, just about to board a train home, and I got a phone call from Kuniko saying that she was driving home from work right then, and she offered to pick me up and drive me home. I couldn’t pass up on that offer, especially in the crappy weather we were having, so I did a little shopping at the station and by the time I had finished she was there.

Kuniko suggested stopping at Swaad for dinner on the way home, and it sounded great. As usual, the food was great. The chef came out to chat with us – and we talked about his marsala kofta and he told us how he makes them. He said that he often sweetens the curries that he serves because that seems to be popular with Japanese people, so I asked him to make an authentic version for us the next time we come in. That should be interesting.

It looks like this Friday Antoine and I will meet up in Sannomiya for the first time this year. He suggested a Cuban restaurant that I haven’t been to yet, so it’ll be fun trying something different. The following two Fridays I also have some parties with ex-students, so it looks like it’ll be a busy couple of weeks.

Saturday night after Kuniko finished up a grueling meeting at work we met at Nadaya, our current favorite sushi bar. We had a seat right in front of the master, who took care of us all night. As usual, we ordered the “omakase” (master’s choice) course. The season is winter, and that meant several kinds of crab, lobster, and shellfish made an appearance, as well as squid, fatty tuna, and snapper. While we ate we drank a beer first, and then changed to sake. It was a good evening – certainly better than Kuniko’s day.

Sunday we did a little bit of walking around town for exercise. We did some grocery shopping, rented a movie, and then spent the rest of the day inside baking, eating and relaxing. It was the first day off for Kuniko in two weeks.

While this weekend was pretty slow and relaxing, next weekend should be pretty action-packed. Friday night we’ll each be doing some partying after work, Saturday night we’re hosting the Tojo’s here for dinner, and then Sunday we’ll hit the mountain for an all day hike with one of Kuniko’s coworkers and her boyfriend.

Friday has come and I’m feeling pretty good about it. Yesterday I walked to work under slightly cloudy skies, but by the time I came home it was windy, rainy and cold. That’s a bad combination for me – and a little unusual for winter in Kobe. Today looks like there may be a little rain now and then, but it shouldn’t be nearly as wet as it was yesterday.

Today we’ve got no special plans in the evening, but tomorrow we’re going to meet in Kobe to enjoy some sushi at one of our favorite restaurants. Kuniko will have a stressful day tomorrow meeting face to face with the “Monster Parents”, and so it’ll be nice to recap and de-stress over sake and good sushi. Luckily her principal has agreed to attend the meeting and help her deal with the monster parents – so hopefully that’ll take some of the pressure off.

We’re also thinking about doing some hiking on Sunday, but now I think it really depends on the weather. This is the first rain we’ve had in a couple of months, so it seems strange to have to worry about the weather for a hike.